Moving On
by Wicked-Witch-of-the-Midwest-18
Summary: sigh...I still don't write summaries. don't ask. just read it. and I obviously don't own Alfie.
1. Chapter 1

"You're late," I said, continuing to clear the table without looking up, muttering the last word, "_again._"

I heard Damon scoff slightly from behind me, dropping his bag and jacket as he walked in the door. "Sorry, I didn't realize there was anything to be on time for."

Pressing my lips together for a second to stay calm, I glanced back at him quickly. "I told you dinner was going to be at six. It's now," I paused to look up at the clock, "almost seven-thirty."

"So now dinner is a to-the-minute, scheduled thing?" he asked, sending me a skeptical look as he searched the fridge for something to eat.

Growing increasingly more frustrated, I took a deep breath and placed the dishes in the sink, then turned so that I was facing Damon. "No, but when you're almost an hour and a half late, then it's a problem."

Damon's hand clenched around the fridge handle slightly, but he didn't lift his gaze as he spoke. "I'm sorry _Your Highness_, it won't happen again."

"And that's exactly what you said the last time this happened," I said, crossing my arms over my chest, choosing to ignore the overly sarcastic tone in his voice.

This time, he did straighten out, shutting the fridge without ever taking anything out. His mouth opened, closed, and then opened again, an angry look on his face. "I'm going out. Be back later."

My own jaw dropped slightly, appalled at the fact that he was really just going to leave again. "When are you going to be home?"

"I don't know, later?" he said, rolling his eyes as he put his jacket back on. He opened the door, turning back to blow me an overly exaggerated, completely cynical kiss before nearly slamming it behind him.

I stayed where I was for a couple seconds after Damon was gone, trying to process exactly what had just happened. It's not like we had even gotten into a fight, not technically. But this also definitely wasn't the first time we had had a disagreement about Damon's apparent inability to keep track of time.

Sighing, I finished cleaning up the mostly uneaten dinner, washing off the table, putting away the leftovers, and anything else I could do to pass the time. I knew there was no way I would be able to sleep until Damon was home, so I had several hours to kill.

Eventually, I ran out of things to do, having already cleaned pretty much the entire apartment, folded some laundry, taken a shower, and flipped through every channel we had at least twice. It was already almost two in the morning, but Damon was nowhere to be seen.

I must have dozed off on the couch, because the next thing I knew, I was startled awake by the door being thrown open. My head snapped up, my eyes frantically trying to adjust to the light that was flooding in.

Slowly but surely, my boyfriend came into focus, his tall frame leaning against the doorway, a sickly grin on his face. No sooner had I seen his face then I squeezed my eyes shut again for a second, swearing under my breath. Plastered. Damon was completely and totally plastered.

I sat up as Damon stepped farther into the room, shutting the door behind him. He stumbled his way over towards me and, out of reflex, when he started to fall I jumped up to stop him, leading him to the couch so that he could sit down.

"Thanks sweetheart," he slurred, trying to pull me down onto the couch next to him. I winced slightly and pulled my wrist out of his grip, taking a seat a good foot away from where he was sprawled out on the couch.

If there was one thing I couldn't stand, it was drunk Damon. I would have rather had angry Damon, sarcastic Damon, or even late Damon, than have him come home like this.

"Oh come on," Damon drawled, making another advance at me. And because of my position on the couch, I was unable to move out of the way as he wrapped his arms around me and started placing sloppy, wet kisses along my neck.

I squirmed slightly, completely uncomfortable as I tried to push him away, with little success. "Damon. Damon, stop it!" I cried out as he continued to move closer.

His eyes narrowed slightly, but he didn't stop trying to climb on top of me, one of his hands fiddling with the hem of my shirt as he gave me a drunken grin. "What, you don't want this, sweetheart?" I shook my head. "Why not?"

"You're drunk, Damon," I said, trying to sound firm even as my voice shook. Somehow, I escaped his grasp, sliding off the couch and backing up a foot or two so that he couldn't grab me again.

I knew things were about to take a turn for the worse when a dark look crossed over Damon's face, and he sat up slightly. "That's never stopped you before," he spat out, causing my own face to turn a crimson red.

Instead of replying to him and turning this into an even bigger mess, I simply stood up, my face still burning, and walked into the bedroom. Not hearing any footsteps following me, I quickly began stuffing some clothes into a bag. Once that was done, I walked back into the living room, slipped on a pair of shoes and jacket and was halfway out the door before Damon spoke again.

"And just where do you think you're going?" was the surprisingly forceful sentence uttered from the boy who was still somewhat sprawled out on the couch.

I froze where I was, one foot already out the door, and turned back to look at him. "Out," I replied shortly, bolting the rest of the way out, shutting the door and practically running down the hallway.

Waiting until I was entirely out of the apartment building before I even stopped to breathe, I all but collapsed on one of the benches that was set up, trying to figure out what I was going to do now.

There was no way I could go back inside the apartment, at least not tonight. I let out a sigh, knowing that left me with only one option. Standing up, I adjusted my bag and started walking down the deserted street towards my destination.


	2. Chapter 2

The destination in question was my best friend's house. I hadn't actually seen Alfie for a couple months and I hadn't talked to him for at least a week, but I was hoping he wouldn't mind me showing up at his apartment like this.

This thought actually made me stop in my tracks, a sudden feeling of terror washing over me. Yes, Alfie was my best friend, but that didn't mean he would be happy to see me. Not only because it was nearly four in the morning, but because the reason I was currently on my way to his house was the same reason that we had stopped talking in the first place.

Letting out a long sigh, I did my best to force any negative thoughts out of my head and continued my way down that sidewalk. Not only did I not have much of a choice at this point, but I really did miss Alfie and I knew that he would be able to make me feel better.

Several minutes later I arrived at his apartment building, taking a deep breath and looking up before stepping inside. As expected, the lobby was empty as I made my way to the elevator, pressing the fourth floor button, my nerves rising in time with the elevator.

The ding signaling my arrival caused me to wince as the door opened and I quietly walked down the carpeted hallway to Alfie's door. I lifted my hand to knock, pausing for a full minute before rapping my knuckles against the wood. It took another minute or two, but sure enough the door opened and there stood the familiar sight of my best friend.

We stood in silence for a few moments, me biting my lip nervously as he tried to figure out what was going on. Finally, he spoke. "Megan?" was the only thing he said.

"Hi Alfie…" I replied sheepishly, my gaze fixed on the ground.

I heard him sigh and could just imagine him running one hand through his tousled brown hair. "What time is it?"

"Four o'clock?" I answered quietly. He moaned just as quietly and all but pulled me inside, shutting the door behind us.

My eyes were still glued to the floor as I went and took a seat on his couch, feeling like a little kid who was about to get in trouble with their parents.

Silence filled the air as Alfie took a seat next to me, letting out a huff as he did so. "What are you doing here?"

The tone of voice caused me to finally look up at him, a lump starting to form in my throat. It wasn't angry or sad or anything, it was emotionless. This was about ten times worse than anything else that could have happened. So of course, instead of replying, I simply burst into tears.

Immediately a pair of strong, familiar arms was around me. I buried myself into Alfie's shoulder, not even caring about the awkwardness that had surrounded us a mere three seconds ago. I needed my best friend and that was all that mattered.

Alfie gently rubbed my back until I had stopped crying, although my breath was still shaky as I readjusted myself so that I was more comfortable. He automatically moved as well, our bodies fitting together instantly just as they always had.

Another minute or two passed before Alfie repeated his question, although this time there was a significant change in his voice as he spoke. It was much softer, meant to sooth my emotions instead of cause them.

I took a shaky breath before answering him the best I could. "Damon," I said simply.

I could feel the change in Alfie's mood, could feel his body tense as the word left my mouth, and I bit down on my lip slightly, not wanting to meet his eyes. "What happened?" There was no judgment in his voice, but I could tell that he was angry now.

"He came home drunk…again," I replied, not feeling the need to explain any further than that.

"Did he hit you?" I shook my head frantically and I felt him relax next ever so slightly. "Good. I'd have to beat his ass if he had." Though I knew Alfie was being serious, I couldn't help but smile a little at the thought.

There was silence for a few moments and I could tell that Alfie was waiting for more of an explanation than that. Once he figured out there wasn't one coming, he spoke up again. "So you never really answered me before. What are you doing _here_?"

I let out a shaky sigh, knowing what he was implying. I could have gone to anyone's house, but I had ended up here. When it came down to it though, the real answer was simple: he was my best friend. And that's exactly what I told him.

He let out a humorless laugh, more of a snort than anything, causing me to glare at him. "Sorry, it's just…that doesn't really explain why you're here of all places. You could have gone anywhere, or called me, or just stayed home."

I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, mostly because I knew he was right. Never before had I made the journey over to his house in the middle of the night, not since Damon and I had started dating. "Well, I'm here now so…" I paused for a moment or two, debating whether or not to actually ask. Finally, I just went for it, "would it be okay if I stayed here? Just for the night."

There was a few seconds of silence, long enough that I figured Alfie was about to refuse. When he spoke, I was surprised to hear the opposite. "Of course you can stay," was the slightly weary reply.

Thanking him, he nodded in response, and got up to change into my sweats. Once I was done, I wandered back into the living room to find Alfie setting up blankets and a pillow on the couch.

I went to go sit down, figuring that's where I would be sleeping, but he stopped me. "No, no, come with me," he said, leading me into his bedroom. "You're sleeping in here."

Protesting would have been pointless, so I nodded slightly, then went and climbed under the covers. Alfie took a few steps before turning and stopping inside the doorway. "Do you need anything? Water? Another blanket?"

"No thanks, I'm alright," I answered almost instantly. He turned to walk out when I thought of something. "Wait!" Alfie turned back towards me, an eyebrow raised in question. "Stay with me? Until I fall asleep at least, please?"

Just like before, it took him a couple seconds to answer, again making me think he would refuse. But instead, he let out a sigh and walked over to the bed, climbing underneath the covers next to me. It was silent as I moved closer to him and he wrapped his arms around me, sighing again and wishing me a good night.


	3. Chapter 3

The next morning, I woke up with a slight smile on my face to an empty bed. The smile disappeared as I remembered where I was and why I was there. I could hear the TV on in the other room and I let out a long sigh, sliding out of Alfie's bed and changing before walking out into the living room.

He was sitting up on the couch, mindlessly eating cereal out of the box. When he didn't look up, I quietly repacked my bag, put on my jacket, and slipped on my shoes. Only then did Alfie look up and see me.

When he noticed that I was about to leave, he frowned ever so slightly. "You're leaving already?" I nodded, causing a strange look to pass over his face. "Well, it was nice seeing you."

"Bye Alfie," I said quietly, not even being able to force a smile onto my face as I turned and walked out of the apartment, down the stairs, and out onto the street. The walk back to my own apartment was much too short, and the next thing I knew, I was opening the front door.

There was a strange scent in the air, first making me think that somehow the apartment was on fire. Pretty soon, I realized that wasn't the case, and that it smelled more like bacon than anything. This was just as confusing, and I slowly made my way to the kitchen only to see Damon standing there, cooking breakfast.

This alone made me freeze in my tracks, my bag dropping to the ground. The noise caused Damon to turn around, a slight smile on his face. He walked over to me and wrapped his arms around me, kissing the top of my head.

Slowly, I returned the hug, although I wasn't entirely sure what was going on. "Good morning," I said hesitantly. "Um, what's going on?"

"Morning! I'm making breakfast, what does it look like?" he replied cheerfully. I must have looked extremely confused because he continued to explain. "To apologize for last night."

Instead of further pursuing the subject, I just nodded and sat down at the table to wait for him to finish. As he was sitting down, a frown appeared on my face as something occurred to me. "Don't you have to work today?" I asked.

Damon shook his head, swallowing his mouth full of food. "I took the day off, figured we could spend some time together." He had a seemingly sincere smile on his face and I couldn't possibly say no to him.

We spent the entire day together, cuddling on the couch and watching movies, barely a word passing between the two of us. It was strange, but I wasn't about to question it since it was the first nice, normal day we had spent together in a long time.

The next morning, after having slept in the same bed together for the time in a while as well, I woke up to an empty bed. Apparently Damon's little vacation was only for one day, something that I was probably a little too happy about.

I got out of bed, shower and getting ready for the day. For some reason, the look Alfie had given me before I had left the day before was haunting me and I was determined to find out what it had meant.

Thus, I had called him to ask if I could stop by, something that he reluctantly agreed to. I walked the short journey quickly, a sense of déjà vu taking over as I knocked on his front door. He gave me permission to come in and I did so, a sort of half smile on my face. "Hi again."

"What's up?" he asked, turning his head to look at me from his position on the couch. There was still a look on his face, one that I couldn't quite place, and I bit my lip as I went and took a seat next to him.

"Hi," I said again, once I was sitting down. Alfie looked at me, one eyebrow raised, and I ducked my head slightly. "Is uh, is something wrong?"

This hadn't been the question I wanted to ask, but it was the first thing that came out of my mouth and there was no going back now. Alfie was really frowning now, staying quiet for a full minute before answering. "What do you think?" he said, practically spitting out the words.

His tone of voice caused me to physically flinch away, as I wasn't used to seeing Alfie angry. I knew asking my next question wasn't going to help anything, but I couldn't stop myself from speaking anyways. "What did I do Alfie?"

"You really don't know, do you?" he asked, his voice now incredulous. I shook my head, not meeting his eyes. "Ever since you started dating Damon, you've barely given me the time of day. We used to be _best friends _Megan! And then, all of sudden you get a boyfriend and you forget about me! At least, until you need something, right? I'm only good enough once Damon's done something wrong?" Alfie's voice continued to rise as he spoke, until he was practically yelling by the end.

My eyes widened to the size of saucers, each of Alfie's words hitting me like a slap. I truly had not thought about any of those things, although as he spoke I knew they were true. We hadn't really spoken since Damon and I had started dating, and it was also true that I only called or stopped by Alfie's house when I couldn't handle being around Damon anymore. Which was still a very rare occurrence, since I usually tried to deal with Damon on my own.

I had begun to gnaw on my bottom lip now, trying and failing to come up with a response that would justify my actions. The truth was, I had none. There was nothing I could say that would truly smooth over everything that I had done. "I'm sorry," I finally whispered, that being the only thing I could muster up the courage to say at the moment.

"You're _sorry_?" was the immediate reply and I winced again, knowing that apologizing hadn't helped in the least. "All the things you've done and all you can say is that you're sorry? Jesus Christ Meg, just go. Before this gets really out of hand," he said, shaking his head and turning away from me.

Tears sprung to my eyes and I quickly wiped them away, getting up off the couch and bolting out the door without another word. I had never, in all my years of knowing Alfie, seen him that visibly angry. To know that I was the cause of it, and that it was all directed at me, was heart wrenching and it caused more tears to start falling.

This time, I walked back to my apartment as slow as I possibly could, not because I dreaded going back but because I couldn't let anyone know I had been crying. I took a long, shaky breath, wiping my eyes one more time before opening the door.

Surprise overcame me as I saw Damon sitting on the couch watching TV, instead of the empty house that I had been expecting. "What, what are you doing home already?" I asked, more than a little curious.

"They let me go early," Damon replied, his eyes still glued to the television screen in front of him. "Where were you?

"Oh, umm, I was out with a friend," I answered quickly. Now my boyfriend looked over at me, silently demanding more of an explanation. "Lindsey. We were friends growing up, but she moved before we started dating. She was back in town so we went out for coffee."

Damon nodded and I breathed a quiet sigh of relief, knowing that he had believed my lie. There was no way that I could let him know that I had been with Alfie, since it would only make him mad.


	4. Chapter 4

After I had gone into the bathroom to splash some water on my face and take a few deep breaths, I went out and joined Damon on the couch. We watched TV, and then ate dinner together, before he announced that he was going out.

I was reluctant to say anything, but I couldn't help myself. I always tried to stop Damon from going out, knowing that it usually ended in him coming home drunk, although I was never successful. "Do you have to?" I asked, my voice ever so slightly whiny.

He walked out of the bedroom, buttoning up his shirt, and gave me a look. "What? You got to spend time with a friend today, I think it's only fair that I get to as well." The way he spoke stopped me from making any more arguments and I simply nodded and let him leave.

Though the fact that I actually vaguely knew where Damon was going to be that night did make me feel better, I still knew that I wouldn't be able to fully relax until he was home again. Thus, I passed the time by cleaning again, and watching movies while I waited.

Once again, I had drifted off, although this time I had finally had the intelligence to climb into bed when I felt myself getting tired. Even so, I was still woken up by the door crashing open, the red glare of the clock announcing the 3:52AM time making me moan quietly.

I stayed where I was, praying that this would be one of Damon's calmer nights, praying that he would simply climb into bed next to me and that would be that. However, I had no such luck. Not three seconds later, he came storming in, a wild look on his face.

His eyes flashed around the room, a drunken grin spreading across his face once his gaze focused on me. I tried my best to prepare myself, clenching the sheets in my hands, as Damon came farther into the room. "Hi there," he said, the alcohol evident on his breath as he spoke.

"H-hi," I stammered out, figured it would be in my best interest to just go along with whatever sick game he was playing.

By this time, Damon had climbed up onto the bed, his face mere inches away from mine. I tried to back away, but grabbed a hold of my hair, making it impossible to move my head without causing a great deal of pain.

"Thought you'd go to bed, huh? Without even waiting for me? Weren't you worried something might happen?" Damon asked, his overly cheery voice in stark contrast to both the look on his face and the force of his grip on my hair.

I couldn't believe that he was getting this worked up about the fact that I had, for the first time ever, actually fallen asleep in bed while waiting for him rather than on the couch. Then again, drunken Damon was never one for rational thought. Still playing along with him, I smiled sweetly, "Of course I was worried, sweetheart!"

He returned the smile with what seemed like such sincerity that I didn't even register the stinging in my cheek until his smile disappeared. The dark look that replaced it somehow made me fully aware of the fact that he had just slapped me, hard. "You're a fucking _liar_," he hissed.

I was in the process of bringing my hand up to my face, my eyes wide in fright, when Damon grabbed my wrist tightly. His grip tightened even further when I cried out, so I bit down on my bottom lip to keep it from happening again.

Damon had never been physical with me, not even when he was drunk. Sure he would yell, but it had never gotten to the point of actual violence. And now here he was, jeering in my stinging face and pressing bruises into my skin.

We sat, silent and frozen, for what seemed like hours. In reality, it was no more than a minute before Damon literally pushed himself away from me, a disgusted scowl on his face. I prepared myself for another blow, but it never came. Instead, he turned and stormed back out of the room and, seconds later, I heard the front door open and slam shut again.

I let out a breath that I didn't even know I had been holding, all but collapsing back onto the pillows. My breathing was ragged and I lay, paralyzed, while I attempted to sort through my thoughts. I knew I had to leave, before Damon came back, but I honestly didn't know where to go.

Of course, my first thought was to go to Alfie's, until I remembered the fight we had gotten into earlier today. As I tried to think of another place I could go, I pulled a sweatshirt over my head, grabbed my purse and slowly crept out the door, slipping on some shoes along the way. I poked my head out into the hallway, and when I was sure the coast was clear, I practically flew down the stairs and out into the night.

Once outside, I put the hood of my sweatshirt up and kept my eyes on the ground, not wanting to draw any attention to myself. The last thing I needed was Damon catching up to me out here.

I was walking without any true thought of where I was going, until somehow I ended up in front of Alfie's apartment building. Looking up, I knew it was really no accident that I had ended up here. I let out a long sigh and pushed the door open as quietly as possible, making my way up to his apartment.


	5. Chapter 5

It took all my courage to knock on the front door once I had arrived, and even then I spent a good five minutes pacing up and down the hallway. Finally, taking another deep breath, I knocked twice and then waited, my hands balling up into loose fists.

A very tired looking Alfie answered the door, the initial look on his face more confused than anything. However, once his eyes focused and he realized who was, once again, knocking on his door in the middle of the night, his face settled into a frown.

I bit my lip and looked down, waiting for him to yell at me or tell me to get lost. To my surprise, neither of these things happened. Instead, he stepped back and opened the door a little wider, gesturing that I should come in.

I did so slowly, hesitating slightly before going and taking a seat on his couch. I kept my eyes on the ground and clenched my hands together as Alfie silently paced in front of me.

"What," he paused for a second, "are you doing here?"

His voice sounded so strangely calm that I was tempted to look up at him, but I kept my eyes focused on the ground as I tried not to start crying again. "Damon, he uh, he came home drunk again."

Alfie's expression softened ever so slightly at this, although the change was almost too minimal to notice. "You know Meg, you can't keep doing this. You can't keep coming over here every time he gets too drunk for you to handle."

This time I did look up at him, slightly surprised and a little annoyed at the tone of voice he was using on me, almost like I was a little kid being scolded. Our eyes met for the first time that night and while mine were narrowed, his widened in surprise.

In an instant, Alfie was by my side, a concerned look on his face. I was entirely confused as to what had brought on this sudden change of attitude until he slowly brought a hand up to my face, brushing his fingers along my cheek gently. Even then, it wasn't until I winced that I remembered what Damon had done.

My gaze fell again, this time in shame and I could almost feel the seconds ticking past as Alfie put the pieces together. "Did he do this to you?" Alfie finally asked. I heard the sharp inhale of breath when I nodded, although he didn't say anything else. Instead, he pulled me into a tight hug, rubbing my back and whispering apologies into my ear.

Though I knew Alfie was trying to make me feel better, for some reason his comforting was only making me feel worse. And the fact that, even after the yelling and accusations, I had still come running to Alfie and he was still willing to try and make me feel better was what finally caused the tears to start falling.

We sat in relative silence for a while before I both heard and felt Alfie take a deep breath, like he was getting ready to say something. "You know you can't go back to him this time, right Meg?" he finally asked.

Though I knew he was right, I was reluctant to actually agree with him. It would be in my best interest to get out now, before it was too late, but I couldn't quite come to terms with the idea of actually leaving Damon for good. Even so, I found myself nodding in agreement, mostly just to keep the peace.

"Good girl," Alfie whispered softly. "Do you want to sleep here again tonight?" I shut my eyes for a second and nodded as he gently kissed the top of my head, the feeling of guilt still heavy in my mind. He stood up and offered his hand, which I took, and then led me to his room.

I immediately crawled under the covers and, although I never asked him to, Alfie climbed in next to me, wrapping his arms around my waist gently. Squeezing my eyes shut, I curled up into a ball and tried to forget the day's events, eventually falling into a fitful sleep.


	6. Chapter 6

The next day I woke up with a massive headache and a feeling of dread hanging over me. At least this time I hadn't woken up alone; I could hear Alfie's slow, even breathing coming from behind me.

I was attempting to sneak out of bed undetected, not wanting to overstay my welcome in any way, when Alfie rolled over and grabbed my hand. "Where are you going?" he asked sleepily.

"I-I was just going to-" I stammered, unable to actually voice a valid reason as to why I was leaving. Alfie looked at me expectantly. "I was just going to go…" I replied softly.

"Not yet you're not," he said, pulling at my hand. "You can stay here and hang out with me today." I knew that I could still turn and walk away, although it was more of a statement than a question, but instead I sighed and climbed back under the covers and allowed myself to fall back asleep.

This time when I woke up, I was alone; although I was sure I could hear Alfie moving around the kitchen. Deciding to investigate, I slowly rolled out of bed, shuffling into the kitchen and plopping down into one of the barstools.

"Morning Meg," Alfie said, turning to give me a half smile before going back to making breakfast. I mumbled a reply and rested my chin on my hands, content to sit and watch him as he worked.

About ten minutes later, he set a plate in front of me and I couldn't help but smile as I looked down at it. "Really Alfie?" I questioned, a slight grin on my face. He turned and gave me a puzzled look. "Chocolate chip pancakes? And whipped cream? You wouldn't be trying to me feel better, would you?"

He grinned as well, ducking his head and shrugging. "I figured you could use a pick me up. And I also figured the preferred methods wouldn't have changed much over the years."

I nodded in agreement, not speaking since I was in the process of sticking a forkful of food into my mouth. Ever since we were little kids, and either of us had needed cheering up, the absolute fool-proof solution was chocolate chip pancakes loaded with whipped cream and a completely lazy day watching Disney movies. Even just knowing that not only had Alfie remembered, but he was actually carrying out the plan made me feel infinitely better and I finished my pancakes quickly in anticipation.

Alfie, however, ate his breakfast at a more reasonable pace, grinning slightly as he noticed my growing impatience. Finally, I couldn't take it anymore and I went over to his DVD cabinet to pick out our first movie.

"What are we watching?" Alfie asked as he walked over and took a seat on the couch. I showed him the case for The Lion King, always one of our favorites, and he smiled. Once I had set it all up, I went and took a seat next to him, curling up into his side as the movie started.

After our third straight movie, Alfie paused the screen and turned to me, a slightly serious expression on his face. I could feel my good mood slowly slipping away, figuring whatever was going on was going to be bad news, although I forced myself to ask anyways, "What's up?"

"I hate to bring this up now," he started, and I could tell by both his facial expression and tone of voice that he really didn't want to talk about this, "but I'm thinking you should uh, probably go talk to Damon. Today, before things get even more out of hand."

My brows furrowed as he spoke, angry that he had brought Damon up at a time like this, although a small part of me had to admit that he was right. If I put off talking to him, it would only make things worse.

"Fine, I'll go," I reply, my voice sounding much calmer than I felt. Alfie looked at me in surprised, obviously not expecting me to agree with him so readily. "But only if you come with me."

He nodded slightly. "Of course I will. And um, if you want, I don't mind if keep crashing here. For as long as you need to."

I allowed a small smile onto my face and I hugged him quickly. "Thanks Alfie. Now let's go before I change my mind," I said, standing up.


	7. Chapter 7

Minutes later, we were both standing outside my apartment door. My hands were literally shaking and I was about three seconds away from turning around and bolting down the hallway.

Alfie noticed this and placed his hands on my shoulders. "You can do this Meg, I know you can. And remember, I'll be right here if you need anything, ok?"

I took a deep breath and nodded slowly, turning and knocking on the door softly. There was no answer, so I knocked again, freezing when I heard footsteps coming closer and closer. I looked back at Alfie in panic and he squeezed my shoulder gently.

There was little to no time to prepare myself as the door opened, revealing my boyfriend. "Decided to finally come home, did you?" he spat out, shooting Alfie a disgusted look.

Shaking my head, it took all my courage to stand there and look him in the eyes, hoping and praying that he wouldn't hit me again. Maybe it was because Alfie was there, or maybe he just didn't have it in him when he was sober, but to my surprise he made no move towards me.

"What do you want then?" he asked, leaning against the doorway with one eyebrow raised.

"I came to um, to get my things. And to tell you that we're over," I replied, probably surprising all of us with how steady my voice sounded. This time, he took a step forward and I flinched, ruining whatever bravery I had been showing.

However, he didn't make any sort of contact and both Alfie and I breathed out a quiet sigh of relief as Damon stepped back to let me into the apartment. "Just hurry up and get out of here. I was getting sick of you anyway," he muttered, stalking off to the kitchen.

_Leave it to Damon to make things all about him_, I thought as I crept around the rooms, grabbing whatever I could find of mine and throwing it into a suitcase. I did this as quickly and as quietly as I possibly could, knowing that the slightest thing could set Damon off.

Once I was done, I hesitated for all of three seconds, actually torn about whether or not to actually leave. But then I caught Alfie's eye and with one last glance back towards the kitchen, we were back out in the hallway.

To my credit, I held it together until we were about halfway back to Alfie's house. Then I couldn't take it anymore and I started quietly sobbing. Alfie didn't notice until I let out a gasp, and once he did he immediately led me to the nearest bench, sitting me down before taking a seat next to me.

"Hey, Megan, hey…what's wrong?" he asked quietly, taking a hold of my hands.

Not only could I not speak, but I also had no explanation to give him, so instead I just sat and shook my head, trying my best to stop crying. Thankfully, Alfie understood this and stayed quiet, gently stroking the back of my hand with his thumb.

Finally, I calmed down enough to where I was able to stop crying, although my breath was still coming in shaky gasps. Alfie wiping a stray tear off my face and looked at me. "Are you okay?" he asked softly. I shook my head again and he pulled me into a hug. "Hey, it's over Meg, you don't have to deal with him ever again. You're safe now, okay?"

Although that wasn't at all why I was crying, there was no way I was about to tell him the real reason so instead I nodded, giving him a quick squeeze before letting go. I silently stood up, keeping one of his hands in mine, and we continued on our way back to his house.

The silence continued even after we had arrived at the apartment, where we both sat down on the couch and brought up the next movie we had been about to watch before we left. Though it was nowhere near the same as before, neither of us wanted to talk at this point.


	8. Chapter 8

Over the course of the next few days, things slowly got better. We fell into a sort of routine and it actually felt normal. Through all of this though, there was a thought nagging at the back of my mind, something that had been bothering me ever since I had shown up at Alfie's door the second time.

Four days after I had started living with Alfie, I decided to confront him about the thoughts that had been running through my head. I caught him right after dinner, not letting him get up from the table.

"Um, what's up?" he asked, a confused look on his face.

Before my resolve could fail me, I blurted out my question, "Why were you so angry about me and Damon?"

That same strange look from before crossed over Alfie's face before he frowned slightly. "I told you, because we were best friends and then you simply dropped me like yesterday's trash."

This was pretty much the same answer he had given me before, but this time I didn't believe him. "Come on, tell me the truth Alfie. We both know it was more than me just ignoring you. Plus, your anger started way before we stopped talking."

I said this all with my arms crossed and a somewhat stern look on my face, and I could see that Alfie knew he was caught. He let out a sigh and suddenly became entirely fascinated with the table. "You really want the truth? It's because I couldn't stand even the idea of you with another guy. That's why I got so angry when you started dating Damon. And when you began to ignore me, well, that just added to it."

I frowned, somewhat confused by his answer. Not being able to come up with any other questions, I simply asked, "Why?"

Now he met my eyes, giving me a look that told me the answer should have been obvious. However, I couldn't for the life of me think of anything so I stayed quiet, causing him to sigh again. "You're really going to make me say it, aren't you?" he asked. I shrugged a reply. "It's because I liked you. Still like you, actually. That's why it was so hard to see you with him."

Complete surprise took over and all I could manage to squeak out was, "Really?" Alfie nodded, his eyes dropping back down to the table.

I leaned back in my chair, trying to process this information. All this time that I was with Damon, being pushed around both figuratively and literally, there was this perfectly sweet, amazing boy who had liked me the entire time and who, as I was beginning to realize, had always been an option in the back of my mind. I sighed, wondering why I hadn't realized this earlier, before reaching out and grabbing one of Alfie's hands.

He looked up at me, confusion written across his face, his eyes silently asking what exactly was going on. I bit back a smile, before speaking, "Okay."

"Okay?" he repeated, the confusion growing.

"Yes, okay." I confirmed with a slight nod.

Now he was frowning as he spoke, "Okay what?"

"Okay, I'm pretty sure I can handle being your girlfriend," I replied, smiling slightly.

Alfie's eyes widened before he frowned again. "Really? You're not just saying that to be nice or anything?"

I couldn't help but chuckle a little at his question, causing him to scowl. "Sorry, but you sound like a girl." He raised an eyebrow at me. "Yes, really. Jeez Alfie, I wouldn't joke around about that with you."

Now that he knew I was being serious, he broke into a grin, and I returned it immediately. He stood up, pulling me up out of my chair as well, and then pulled me close.

There was a moment of hesitation from both of us, where we simply stood and looked at each other, the same thoughts probably running through our heads. The thoughts saying that if this didn't work out, it would ruin our friendship. Finally though, we set those worries aside and closed the gap, our lips meeting for no more than a second or two.

Alfie smiled down at me, squeezing my hand gently. "You have no idea how long I've been waiting to do that," he whispered.

I rolled my eyes playfully, choosing to stay quiet and instead lean up and kiss him again.


End file.
